WA LEGISLATURE APPROVES STADIUM BALLOT MEASURE

King County voters will decide either in November or March
whether to approve a sales tax increase of one-tenth of 1% to
help fund a $280M retractable dome stadium for the Mariners. It
is expected that the King County Council will approve the ballot
measure, which passed the WA Legislature Monday. Under the bill,
the team must contribute $45M of the cost of the new ballpark and
agree to play at least 90% of its home games there until bonds
are retired. The team has opposed a public referendum in the
past; proponents of a new stadium have "equated it with the death
of baseball in Seattle" (Peter Callaghan, Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE,
5/24).